The real tragedy of the Sydney Siege

Seriously. I am not making this up. This is the decline and fall of civilization as we know it.

Sydney siege casts pall over Christmas shopping

December 15, 2014 - 4:33PM

Sue Mitchell and Carolyn Cummins

Police have sealed off part of the Sydney CBD. Photo: Getty Images

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Retailers fear the siege in Sydney could further dampen already subdued consumer sentiment in the countdown to Christmas.

"I don't want to be prophet of doom and gloom but you do worry about how this could affect spending," Australian Retailers Association chief executive Russell Zimmerman said.

While major retailers such as Myer and Woolworths said their stores in Sydney's CBD were trading as normal, David Jones closed the doors of its flagship Elizabeth Street store - which is less than two blocks from the besieged Lindt cafe - and customers and staff left the building.

Many specialty retailers in the area around Martin Place were also forced to close and consumers have been prevented from accessing the centre of the city.

"For Sydney city retailers it's going to be a huge drain on cash flow and a huge issue for them," Mr Zimmerman said.

"In the short term people will question whether they go into the city to do their shopping," he said.

"You could also get people questioning whether to shop where there are major crowds. They're going to miss out on a lot of business - this is the time you want people to get out and spend money." (Italics mine.)

The siege is likely to further dampen consumer sentiment, which has fallen this month to the lowest level in more than three years.

Many retailers are already under pressure and have been forced to step up the frequency and depth of discounting.

The Australian National Retailers had forecast that consumers would spend a record $8.3 billion nationally this week but those forecasts could now be in doubt.

"One would hope consumers would look at this and say it's a once only event and its not going to happen again," Mr Zimmerman said. (Oh?)

"I suspect that retailers will need to reassess various aspects of their business moving forward, such as security," he said. (But if it ain't going to move merchandise, forget about it. Hostage-taking happens.)

About 100 stores in Westfield Sydney in Pitt Street Mall were closed, and other main shopping centres in the CBD were empty of people.

Priceline Pharmacy chief executive Stephen Roche said its stores in Westfield Sydney and Pitt Street were closed to allow staff to leave the city.

The seige in the Lindt Chocolat Cafe comes with only a week to go before Christmas, which is the time when retailers make a significant amount of their yearly turnover. (Do you seriously think the hostage-takers are too stupid to know about this?)

Westfield said tenants in its Pitt Street shopping centre were given the option to close and send staff home.

A store operator in the shopping centre confirmed most of the shops had closed, while Martin Place jewellers Tiffany & Co and Fairfax & Roberts also shut and sent staff home.

Global cosmetics chain Sephora was one of the retailers to close for safety reasons. Its first Australian store in Pitt Street opened less than two weeks ago.

Stockland and AMP Capital also told retailers in the city malls and arcades they could close for the day.

"Our advice to all centre managers remains the same: to maintain high awareness and vigilance," a Stockland spokesman said.

With the recent bad weather in Sydney and job-security concerns, retailers had already been feeling the pressure of weak consumer sentiment.

Many shops have been quietly discounting before the traditional post-Christmas sales officially start to entice shoppers.

The retailers say they had been predicting a busy season, but the poor weather along the eastern seaboard had hit them, and they expect the latest round of discounting to continue well into the new year.

It's great to know that at this festive time of year, the malignant spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge is alive and well. After all, commerce should always trump safety, shouldn't it? It won't happen again, will it? Well, maybe not here, and maybe not now. So get out there and go shopping, you ignorant people! Don't ruin our holiday profit margin with your ridiculous concerns about survival. Surely buying perfume and ties and chocolate is more important than making sure your kids are OK. Or at least, it should be. Don't you know "values" refers to sale prices and not some lame attempt at a moral compass?

I'd say this would all come home to haunt them, but it probably won't. Increasingly, I see a numbing of compassion and concern in the human race that is the real villain in a dehumanized, hostage-oriented world. This is the thing that will finish us, and a lot sooner than we realize. 

Heave-ho, heave-ho, it's not to work I go

 

When I first read this article (below) - actually, I don't even think it was this article, but something like it - I was appalled. The lack of humanity, the utter lack of honesty and straightforwardness made me dizzy. I haven't worked in an office for some time. It seems as if you have to grow very long antennae to try to figure out what is actually going on, or soon you'll be spinning around on your ass on black ice. Outside.

When did this happen, or has it always been that way? It sure vindicates my post of yesterday when I said that even one mistake can cost you your job. Not only that: they won't even TELL you it has cost you your job. More than one person has told me they never found out they were fired until they saw their position posted on an internet employment site.

I weep for humanity. I weep for people who have families to support who are canned for no good reason except that the boss seems to be tired of them. People who are subtly pushed away and kept out of the loop, and thus CAN'T perform up to their potential because they do not know what the hell is going on.

It seems we have a whole new set of rules here, so you'd better not listen to all those chirpy Tony Robbins-type motivational speakers who tell you to make tons of mistakes in order to "learn". Don't make mistakes, people! Don't make any. You won't "learn". You'll be canned, and it won't look very good on your resume.

Signs You're About to Get Fired

Rusty Rueff, On Friday March 4, 2011, 12:35 pm EST

Too many times after someone gets fired, they say, "I should have seen it coming." But most of us don't see the signs because we don't want to see them. They're there, sometimes right in front of us.

Here are some cautionary signs your last day may be coming sooner than you think:

There's been a "change" in your boss' behavior towards you. This isn't always a fatal sign, but you should be sensitive to it. If you sense your boss isn't being as friendly or open as usual, something bad might be brewing. If she no longer acts in a way that makes you feel secure and comfortable in your job and relationship with her, like dropping by the cubicle unannounced to sit and shoot the breeze or seeking your advice, it could be a sign of trouble.

One-on-ones are consistently canceled. Beyond your boss' attitude or changing behavior, if he starts canceling every one-on-one meeting you've scheduled, or you have trouble getting his time and attention, then he could be feeling guilt about what's coming next. He could be avoiding you.

The boss has a new attention to detail. In the past, you were always left alone to perform, without much attention or coaching, but all of a sudden your boss is all over you. Maybe she's asking too many questions, setting deadlines, and following up on small tasks that once never mattered. It could be that she's building her performance case and getting her ducks in order.

No more talks about planning and the future. If by this time last year you were planning ahead for the annual conference or future budgets, yet now you aren't getting information or invites to meetings, then it's probably because you aren't considered as someone who will be here for the future.

The "insider" stops talking to you. Every team has someone we know is the boss' insider. This is the person who your boss talks to more than anyone else, who she asks for advice and counsel. If you were the insider and all of a sudden the flow of information slows, that says it all. Or if someone you know is the boss' insider stops talking to you or begins avoiding you, then it could be that he knows more than you do and is reacting to an uncomfortable bit of knowledge.

HR doesn't have time for you. This is assuming that HR used to have time for you. HR employees are like anyone else in that they'll avoid uncomfortable situations for fear of saying the wrong thing or setting the wrong expectations. Take note if they're "unavailable" or not hanging around with you like they used to do.

Your complaints get answered with, "You're right." In the past, you may have had conversations about how your job wasn't challenging enough, and your boss would try to convince you otherwise. But if recently she starts agreeing and sending signals almost encouraging you to go find another job, don't miss that sign.

Before you panic and think you're going to lose your job tomorrow morning, recognize that this is much like a horoscope--we can see enough of it in any given day that it looks like it's true and written just for us. See these changes as what they are, warning signs, and nothing more. If any of these are happening to you right now, set up time to speak with your boss to ask what you can do to improve. Do this before it's too late, and you'll avoid getting blindsided.

Rusty Rueff, director and career expert for jobs and career website Glassdoor.com has been a CEO, led HR in global companies and is co-author of Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business.

Margaret's Links:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1896300693/qid%3D1064537730/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr_11_1/103-6792065-9634225

http://www.amazon.com/Mallory-Margaret-Gunning/dp/0888013116/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319992815&sr=1-1